Complete BMW maitenance newbie

Now just to start off with, I just bought my first bmw, and '82 R65, and basically am a complete newb when it comes to maintenance. I am taking it in tomorrow to a local mechanic to get the carb balanced, and get it further inspected. It does need a tune-up, but the bike seems pretty loud even for one in need of tuning and such. Could it be the muffler? Also, I seem to have to upshift at really low speeds, i.e. go into 2nd at 10mph, 3nd at 22mph. Is this just how the bike is or could there be a problem?

-Bowen

This is a new-to-you airhead checklist developed by Tom Cutter, one of the nation's top airhead tranny rebuilders and overall experts. Do not be intimidated.
This is a very sound approach to establishing a good operating baseline for your new airhead.



1) Change ALL oils.
2) Torque cylinder heads (25 foot pounds, loosen each nut 1/2 turn,
then torque, use crisscross pattern)., adjust rocker arm end play (zero
play, no rotational binding), adjust valve clearances (cold engine) to
>.006" Intake, .008" Exhaust.
3) Service auto advance unit (don't snap the thread off the end of the
cam, tighten GENTLY!), grease point cam felt with a smear of grease.
4) Set points gap to 0.016" (0.40 mm) using a good feeler gauge, or
better yet a dwell meter, look for 39 degrees on the four cylinder
scale (gives you 78 degrees on a two cylinder).
5) Set ignition timing static setting to S mark on flywheel.
6) Check full advance timing at 3200 RPM, the dot (or hole if the paint
is gone) above the F mark should be steady in the center of the timing
hole, aligned with the machined groove in the side of the hole.
7) Service the air filter, i.e., put a new one. DO NOT blow out air
filter with compressed air, do not leave a K&N filter in at all.
8) Drop carb float bowls and clean the tiny jet in the little well in
the corner of the bowl using a single strand of wire from a wire brush,
held with needle nose pliers. Make sure contact cleaner will spray
through the jet into the bowl.
9) Remove the main jet and jet holder (make a mental note of the depth
of engagement of the jet holder), drop down the needle jet and emulsion
tube, (keep your finger over the hole so they don't fall out and get
lost.) Use some Gumout carb cleaner spray to clean the gunk that has
accumulated above the jet holder. Spray the jets and emulsion tune
clean, then reinstall the emulsion tube, needle jet and jet holder.
Visually align the jets onto the needle carefully. As you screw the jet
holder up in with your FINGERS, if it doesn't seat fully (remember the
mental note?) then back it up about 1/32 of a turn and wiggle it as you
screw it in gently (FINGERS ONLY!) You will feel when the emulsion tube
finds its way up into the carb body hole. If you can;t get it , remove
the air tube from the air cleaner housing and visually see that the
emulsion tube projects up into the venturi about 3-4 mm. You can wiggle
the needle to help align it as you screw it up in with your FINGERS.
10) Check the float level setting by lifting the float gently with your
fingers. When the needle seats, BEFORE the spring loaded part begins to
depress, the seam in the float should be parallel to the float bowl
gasket surface. Reinstall the bowl carefully, making sure the gasket is
fully seated in the groove all the way around.
11) Check that the throttle cable has a tiny amount (1-2mm) free play
when the throttle grip is all the way back. Get the two sides as close
to the same free play as possible.
12) Check that the choke cable fully seats the lever on the post when
the lever is in the horizontal position. At half choke, the lever on
the carb should be halfway between the posts. At FULL choke position of
the hand lever, the choke lever should be all the way up to the top post.
13) LIGHTLY screw the idle mixture screw IN until you feel the screw
seat. Now back the screw OUT by 3/4 turns (this setting varies for
other models).
14) Turn the idle SPEED screw OUT until it does not contact the
butterfly lever at all. Now screw the screw IN until it JUST touches
the lever, now turn it IN one FULL turn.

These are the baseline settings. Now take the bike for a LONG test
ride, at least five miles, to get it to FULL operating temperature.
Riding around the block or starting and revving on the stand will NOT work.

At this point you need to synchronize the carburetors. This is
accomplished either by shorting one cylinder at a time (this takes some
practice to get right, usually you need somebody to show you once) or
using a vacuum gauge on the vacuum takeoff ports on the side of the
carb. Set the idle mixture on each carb at the point that gives best
running, usually between 1/2- 1-1/4 turn out. Balance the idle speed
screws, then balance the cable pull off idle. Recheck to be sure that
you still have a tiny bit of free play of the cables. If not, readjust
the cables.

This should get the bike running pretty well. Idle speed should be at
1000-1100 RPM. DO NOT set the idle for a super low "tickover", as this
will severely reduce oil circulation in the engine and make the
transmission rattle like a bag of rocks.

Thanks for the good list. I am still new, so it is helpful. I noticed the list referred to adjusting the carbs using the shorting method. Doesn't that pose significant risks to the electronic components? I have avoided that based on other things I have read. Is there an advantage to this method and can it be used without the risk of damage? Thanks.

The list is of little use to a newbe.

Absolute best thing you can do is join your local BMW motorcycle club, wherein there will be guys willing to help you and maybe even "tech days."

Motorcyling should be a social activity and not a lone wolf activity.

lkchris said:

The list is of little use to a newbe.

Absolute best thing you can do is join your local BMW motorcycle club, wherein there will be guys willing to help you and maybe even "tech days."

Motorcyling should be a social activity and not a lone wolf activity.

Click to expand...

Not everone lives were there is a large BMW Group.

Don

sumran said:

Thanks for the good list. I am still new, so it is helpful. I noticed the list referred to adjusting the carbs using the shorting method. Doesn't that pose significant risks to the electronic components? I have avoided that based on other things I have read. Is there an advantage to this method and can it be used without the risk of damage? Thanks.

Click to expand...

The shorting method will not pose any risk to the electrical system, provided you're careful. All you're doing is creating another path to ground for the electrical energy...that is what the plug does but it forces the energy to jump the gap to ground. There is a risk in the situation where you try and start the bike with plugs pulled and the spark plug body is not directly connected to ground. This can create problems throughout the ignition system if the energy can't find a way to ground.

Oh, the other potential risk is to your body if you don't hold the shorting device properly or the energy tries to use you as the path to ground.

lkchris said:

The list is of little use to a newbe.

Absolute best thing you can do is join your local BMW motorcycle club, wherein there will be guys willing to help you and maybe even "tech days."

Motorcyling should be a social activity and not a lone wolf activity.

Click to expand...

donbmw said:

Not everone lives were there is a large BMW Group.

Don

Click to expand...

Nor is everyone a newbie wrench.

I am a new airhead owner (picking it up next week, if all goes well) but I am a newbie only to airheads; not to fixing my own vehicles. I find that list to be a tremendous start for what I hope to be years of keeping an old (Is a '78 'old'?) Euro-spec R100RS on the road. Even with my somewhat limited skills and near total unfamiliarity with BMW airheads, I could picture doing everything in that post as I read it. Although I've never laid eyes on a Bing emulsion tube or carb jet, I've laid my eyes - and hands - on a number of others, including SU, Mikuni, Weber, and Carter.

I have done most of the maintenance for my four BMW E28s (the '82-'88 5 Series sedans) over the past decade and for other cars and bikes (of undisclosed Japanese origin) before that. My nearest BMW bike dealer is no closer than my nearest BMW car dealer (~45 miles) and I don't plan to spend a whole lot of time with either. I do, however, expect to see a lot of helpful information like this here.

Fantastic - was looking for this type of a rundown myself. THANK YOU!!!

sumran said:

Thanks for the good list. I am still new, so it is helpful. I noticed the list referred to adjusting the carbs using the shorting method. Doesn't that pose significant risks to the electronic components? I have avoided that based on other things I have read. Is there an advantage to this method and can it be used without the risk of damage? Thanks.

Click to expand...

IMHO, invest in a CLYMER (service, repair, maintenance book), it allows you to work on bikes from 1970 to 1996 so a great book for all the airheads. It's 30 bucks at Amazon and you get free shipping. Then make yourself an oil manometer for less than 4 bucks. I made one and it works great, I would not get the 1/8" tubing since it is smaller than the vacuum ports on the carbs maybe 1/4" if you do get 1/8" use some heat to expand the tube over the port. Here is the link for making one.

http://www.powerchutes.com/manometer.asp

Youl find the parts at just about any hardware store.

For any other help, there is this web site and many others, just by doing a search on what you would like to do to your BMW airhead. My closest BMW motorcycle dealership is over 2 hours away... not a big chance I will be seeing them any time soon.

+1 on getting a Clymer manual - even if you don't do all the maintenance yourself, it will help you get to learn about how the
bike is put together and help with performing the easier maintenance
items. Also, ignore the bits in the fairly comprehensive list above about
adjusting points, felt - your bike doesn't have them and you'll waste alot of time if you try to find 'em ! The full advance timing mark is a 'Z'
in this model year. Many of the other bits are still relevant,
and you can find alot of good info in the Clymer manual.

Welcome aboard !

In addition to being an MOA member, I can't recommend joining the Airheads club enough.

There's lots of knowledge there and they're happy to share with folks that ask intelligent questions.

I second and third the above suggestions. Being an Airhead member is invaluable information, also having a Clymer and Haynes manuals is good info. As far as the charging system, I would invest in BMW Motorrad's book and Bing's carb book. They should all be part of the libary in the Airhead garage...

Sailorbay said:

Also, I seem to have to upshift at really low speeds, i.e. go into 2nd at 10mph, 3nd at 22mph. Is this just how the bike is or could there be a problem?

-Bowen

Click to expand...

"have to"? What exactly is forcing you to upshift at such low speeds/RPMs? if it's the sound of the motor- fahgettaboudit! These motors prefer to rev. In general, upshifts are best done following a brisk acceleration, at RPMs between 5 and 7K.

I wonder if you have some after market mufflers? I have some that came on my bike and it has a very throaty roar, more like a Harley (can I say that word?) than a BMW. Well maybe not quite that loud but they do pop. I rather like it.

Doug

Great list, Bill. I will look to my local Airhead gurus for their help with my new-to-me Airhead since I am wrench-challenged. Thanks, in advance, to my local gurus for their excellent support...........................